earnestly call for a Bible with these words come come death approcheth let us gather some flowers to comfort this heart in this hour and turning with his own hand to the 8. Chapt. to the Romans he gave it to a Minister present and bad him read and at the end of every Verse Mr. Holland made a Pause gave the sense of it and so continued his meditation and exposition for two hours On the suddain he said to the Minister that was reading to him O stay your reading what brightness is that I see have you lighted any Candles to whom was answered no it is the Sun shine Sun shine saith he nay my Saviours shine now farewel world welcome Heaven the Day-star from on high hath visited my heart O speak it when I am gone and Preach it at my funeral God dealeth familiarly with men I see his mercy I see his Majesty whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell but God knows I see things unutterable And a little before he dyed ravished in Spirit he raised himself up and shut up his blessed life with these blessed words Oh what an happy change shall I make from darkness to light from night to day from death to life from sorrow to sollace from a sinful world to an heavenly Being O my dear Brethren Sisters and Friends iâ— pittys me to leave you behind yet remember my death when I am gone and what I now feel I hope you shall feel ere you dye that God doth and will deal familiarly with men And now ye blessed Angels bear me O bear me into the bosome of my best beloved Amen Amen come Lord Jesus come quickly and so fell asleep in the Lord. So Mr. Bolton boasted at his death to a friend what he felt in his Soul I am said he by the wonderful mercies of God as full of comfort as my heart can hold and feel nothing in my Soul but Christ with whom I heartily desire to be So Mrs. Catherine Britterge a Holly woman said at her death O my sweet Saviour dost thou so love me who am but dust and ashes O how wonderful how wonderful is thy love O thee joyes the joyes that I feel in my Soul they be wonderful they be wonderful Many like examples might be given of Saints dying as full of the sense of Gods love as heart could hold and more then their tongues could express I shall instance but in one more and it is in this pretious servant of Jesus Christ whose funerals we solemnize this day her death did not separate her from the sense and feeling of Gods love how sweetly did shee apply the promises for her comfort and in her greatest weakness by the shength of her faith drow those brests of consolation which are then sweetest when death is nearest How comfortably did she speak to her Relations and friends weeping about her desiring them not to mourn for her but to rejoyce rather because the time of her redemption was at hand redemption from sin from sorrow from sickness and pain which she had long suffered What a plerophory and full perswasion she had of her salvation and future happiness appears by her words to my self which were these I know in whom I have believed and will not cast away my confidence And also by her last and remarkable words to her dear and disconsolate Husband which she uttered a little before she breathed out her Soul into the bosom of her best beloved alluding to the words of her Saviour she said I goe to my Father and thy Father to my God and thy God By all these instances you may see death cannot separate a believer from the sense of Gods love much less from his love Thus you have the doctrinal part a few words by way of Application Use 1. If death cannot separate the faithful from the love of God thâ—s then is a sweet comfort to Gods Children against the fear of death of what sort soever in what manner soever Though there be many separaâ—â—ons in death terrible to flesh and blood dreadful to nature as 1. It is a separation from our dear friends and relations from husband wife and children from Father and Mother death plucks us from all these at once this is dreadful to nature but yet no separation from Gods love It only takes us from friends on Earth to friends in Heaven it brings us to the general assembly of the first born to Jesus the mediaâ—our to Angels and the Spirits of just men made perfect So that by this separation we doe but change our place not our company and our faithful friends which we leave behind us shall shortly follow after us co 〈…〉 to us and we and them shall ever be with the Lord. 2. The death of the body is a separation from all our Earthly comforts from all our worldly injoyments and accommodations and this is uncomfortable to nature too He that hath House and Land Money and Stock flocks and heards riches and honours high dignities and great preferments in the world must take a final farewel of all these when death comes The Fool and his full Barns rich stores and goods for many years must suddenly and ever lastingly part when death aproacheth and this is sad to him that hath nothing in store in another world But such a separation is not terrible or uncomfortable to a Child of God because he is assured though these things leave him yet God loves him which is better to him then all the comforts of life and will bring him ever by death to better comforts to a building an house in Heaven to inherit all things to a rich and glorious purchase to an everlasting Kingdom to joyes unspeakable felicity inconcevable and to Rivers of pleasures at Gods right hand for evermore 3. The death of the body is the separation of the Soul from thee body which is most terrible to nature that the body and Soul these old friends must now part the body to return to the dust as it was and the Soul to God that gave it and Oh with what bitterness with what throbs and groans with what sighs and tears with what pangs and pains do these long and intimate acquaintance usually part But though death part Soul and body yet neither the Soul nor the body of a Saint from the love of God Psal 116. 15. Pretious Psal 116. 15. in the sight of the Lord is the death of all his Saints A poor Child of God lying upon his death bed bemoans himself his friends also grieve and mourn for him and in the sight of the world he is in a grievous and miserable Estate but in the sight and estimation of God his death is very pretious and dear the Lord loves him loves his Soul in its separation from the body and receives it as a pretious Jewel into the very besome of his love He loves his dead body yea his very dust and will raise it again out
the Prison in red in the fire in white in the Kingdom of Heaven Thus you see what comfort this doctrine affords to the faithful in all conditions and Estates Oh how should this make you prize and esteem the love of God above all things in the world above riches friends favour of men life it self which are all uncertain Oh how should this unchangable and eternal love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord make us grow out of love yea into a loathing of all other things in comparison of it as St. Paul did Phil. 3. 8. Phil. 3. 8. Oh prize this love of God above ten thousand worlds Take heed that you doe not abuse it by carnal security and wantonness but let it make you more diligent in your work and more studious of his glory more careful to please him more fearful to offend him and let the frequent thoughts of it augment and increase your love to him whom you can never love enough nor fear enough nor serve nor honour enough for this great love of his to you which made him send his own Son to dye in thy stead to reconcile thee and bring thee into favour with himself and so into a better and surer Estate of happiness than Adam had in innocency from which wonderful invincible and eternal love nothing shall be able to separate thee no not death it self I am perswaded that neither death shall separate us so I pass to the third and last point which is this Doct. 3. The death of the body cannot separate believers from the love of God in Christ Jesus In the handling of this I shall be short also I say death it self cannot separate by death here understand not only death it self but also all those sicknesses and deseases that goe before it all the pains terrors and tortures that accompany it or what ever may befall Gods Children at their death cannot separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus 1. Nothing that goes before death 2. Nothing that accompanys death 1. Nothing that goes before death can separate them from Gods love 1. Sickness cannot those whom God loves have sickness yea mortal sickness as well as others but this doth not separate them from Gods love Joh. 11. 3. He whom thou Joh. 11. 3. lovest is sick Not their Souls for he knows their Soul in adversity Psal 31. 7. not their bodies Psalm Psal 31. 7. Psal 41. 3. 41. 3. for God will strengthen them upon their bed of languishing and make their bed in their sickness 2. Nothing that accompanies death can separate them from his love 1. The terrors and horrors of death cannot Psal 23. 4. thou art Psal 23 4. with me and thy rod and thy staffe comfort me so when David walked in the Valley of the shaddow of death he would not fear when he was upon the borders of death and walked side by side with this King of terrours yet David would not be daunted but be confident because thou Lord art with me Then terrours of death which are able to distract a man and separate him from himself could not separate David from his God thou art with me 2. The pains of death cannot the faithful who not only dyed but suffered painful deaths Heb. 11. were stoned to death sawn assunder were yet the Lords worthys dear and pretious in his sight Yea pretious in the sight of the Lord is the death of all his Saints whether it be a natural or violent death an easy or a painful death 3. Death it self cannot which is a separation of the Soul and body yet neither of Soul or body from the Lords love as living so dying they are the Lords both in their Souls and bodys Rom. 14. 8. Rom. 14. 8. that death it self cannot separate the faithful from Gods love is evident 1 For first the death of the body cannot break Gods covenant with his people which is that he will not take away his love from them Isa Isa 54. 10. Psal 89. 33. 54. 10. Psal 89. 33. the reason is because the covenant is made with their whole persons God is in covenant with Soul and body too therefore when death severs these it separates neither the one nor the other from Gods love God is the God of Abraham of Abrahams dust of a believers dust God loves the very dust of his Saints By this argument Christ proves the resurrection of the body Mat. 22. 32. that God was the Mat. 22. 32. God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob the ground of the argument is that God made his covenant not only with the Souls of the Partriarcks but with their whole persons 2. Death cannot separate the faithful from Gods love because they are in Christ Jesus loved in Christ knit unto Christ as members to the head and this union is an inseparable union it remains for ever nothing can violate it no not death therefore when they dye they are said to dye in the Lord. Rev. 14. 13. and when they are in their Rev. 14. 13. graves they are said to be dead in Christ and to rest and sleep in him 3. Death cannot do this for death is ours our friend on our side at our service for us not against us all the passages of it are ours 1 Cor. 1. 22. Nay death in so 1 Cor. 1. 22. far from separating the faithful from the Lord and his love that it brings them home to the Lord and to your full fruition of him and his love in Heaven it brings them to the injoyment of him who is love it self not only to kiss him through the lattice but to lye in the bosom of his love to be infolded in the everlasting armes of his love to be pertakers of all his love and to be filled will all the fulness of God Ephes 3. 19. Eph. 3. 19. Death is so far from casting a believing Soul out of Gods love that it lancheth him into the bottomless Sea of Gods love the bredth and depth whereof passeth knowledge and one drop whereof is more worth then all the Gold of Ophir yea surpasseth all the glory of the world 4. Death cannot separate the faithful from the sense and feeling of Gods love therefore much less from his love it self but usually they have then the greatest manifestations of his love to their Souls 't is then most stird abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost When they are to drink this bitter Cup God sweetens it with the Wine of his love which is better and sweeter then life Thus St. Stephen when he was dying saw Heaven open beheld the glory of God and Christ standing at Gods right hand Act. 7. 55 56. How fully Act. 7. 55 56. hath God manifested his love to some of his servants at their death of which I could give many instances Mr. John Holland a memorable Saint and a godly man an eminent Minister of Christ the day before he dyed did
of the dust to glory at the last day And as the death of a Saint is pretious to God so 't is very gainful and advantagious to the Saint himself for 1. It separates him from all his sins corruptions impurities imperfections from his body of death 2. From this vile and wicked world as the Angels separated Lot from Sodom 3. From all failings and weakness from all afflictions and temptations from all Crosses and grief whatever This is a pretious separation but it never separates him from the love of God in Christ Jesus so far is it from this that it brings him to the immediate and full fruition of God and his love to see him face to face and so to be satisfied with his love and likeness Why then should a believer fear death let death be their fear and dread who are out of Gods favour and have no interest in the love of God in Christ Jesus but let not the beloved of the Lord fear it which is so much their friend because God loves them as to bring them into the bosome of his love and to a present and perfect Union with himself which was the reason why Job so little feared it and St. Paul so Job 3 14 15. Phil. 1. 23. much dâ—â—ired it having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better yea best of all Use 2. This doctrine speaks terror to the wicked You may think it strange that I should draw terror out of so comfortable a truth but consider this comfort belongs only to those that are in Christ Jesus as for those that are out of Christ they are out of the love and favour of God both in life and in death For the present the case of a wicked man is sad in death it will be worse 1. 'T is sad in this life because they live without God out of the love and favour of God in a state of enmity and wrath and all outward blessings they injoy are no signs of Gods special love 2. In death 't is worse 't is bad and sad enough to live out of Gods favour but worse and more sad to dye out of it for then they dye eternally and death to them will be a sad separation for it separates them 1. From their presumptuous conceit hopes and belief of their interest in the love and favour of God What is the hope of the Hypocrite when God taketh away his Soul Now he hopes he is in the love of God but when God by death separates his Soul from his body he separates him also from all his hopes these dye with him and he and his hopes of being in the love of God perish together Prov. 11. 7. Prov. 11. 7. 2. Death separates the wicked from that common and general love of God wherewith he loveth all his creatures especially mankind manifested by his patience and long sufferings by many blessings and comforts of life by his ordinances and many Church priviledges yea and common gifts and graces now death separates them from this common and general love of God and all the forenamed fruits of it Death puts an end to Gods patience separates them from Gods protection from all things that were good and comfortable to them here in this life from all Gods ordinances and from those common graces they have the oyl which they had in their Lamps goeth out when death comes 3. It separates them not only from this general love of God and all that good that is in it but it separates them to everlasting punishment from the presence of the Lord God will say to them then depart from me I never knew you I never loved you Go ye cursed that never had any interest in my everlasting love into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and for his Angels Use 3. If death it self cannot separate the faithful from the love of God in Christ Jesus then as you desire comfort at death labour to get an interest in and an assurance of this love If the arms of Gods love have once embraced thee neither death nor Hell can get the thence for ever the Sanctuary to which thou art fled is inviolate the rock impregnable the City invincible and thou art safe layed up to all eternity This assurance will make thee triumph over death as an enemy that cannot hurt thee a Serpent that cannot sting thee a privation that cannot deprive thee of Gods love O death thou maist say where is thy sting O Grave where is thy Victory for neither the one nor the other can separate thee from Gods love O this will sweeten death which is a bitter thing make death a sweet sleep and the Grave an easy Bed to rest in when we know that it shall not feparate us from but bring us to the full injoyment of him who hath loved us and whom we have loved and longed for O then strive after this assurance in the diligent use of all means search for it seek for it hear it pray for it and wait for it its worth seeking for if once attained you will be so far from fearing death that you will say with old Simeon Lord mine eyes have seen thy Luk. 2. 29 30. salvation my Soul is assured of thy love therefore now let thy Servant depart in peace And here I may set before you as an example to follow this pretious Saint whose sad funerals we now celebrate who by the use of means servent prayer self examination search of the Scriptures meditation on the promises and long patience had attained this assurance this full and certain perswasion of Gods love for when death approched she could say I know in whom I have believed and I go to my God and Father that the time of her redemption was at hand redemption from pain and sickness from sorrow and fin It is not indeed my manner often in this place to make Encomiums of the dead and the Jews have a saying that non facienda sunt monumenta justis monuments are not to be made for the righteous whose words and works are their best monuments and which praise as the righteous man so the vertuous woman in the Gates Prov. 31. 31. In this respect our deceased Pro. 31. 31. friend needs no monument to perpetuate the memory of her worth Her own works will Publish her praise to posterity Yet that I may not seem by silence to bury her vertues with her Ashes give me leave for a few words and that for these two reasons 1. That God may have the glory whilst we shew forth the praises of this Saint whom he long since called from darkness to light in his Kingdom of grace and hath now translated into his Kingdom of Glory 2. That the world may have the benefit of so worthy a pattern and example And though I might inlarge much on this subject yet take what I shall say of her in a few words 1. More generally She was richly